Method and system for presenting rates for travel services

ABSTRACT

A method and system are provided for presenting rates for travel services using dynamic pricing bands. The dynamic pricing bands represent approximate rates for travel services relative to available rates during or close to the proposed dates of travel, or at or near the proposed travel destination. Each dynamic pricing band is keyed to a particular color, intensity, pattern, sound, or other graphical and/or audio characteristic, thereby providing the consumer a sense of the seasonal, regional, day of week, or other variability of rates for travel services without having to compare actual numbers. The dynamic pricing bands are applied to an interactive presentation of rates for travel services to allow the consumer to explore possible rate variations for particular travel services in a manner that provides a birds-eye view, is intuitive and user-friendly.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/897,600, filed Jul. 23, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/581,142, filed Jun. 18, 2004, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of consumers are taking advantage of network-based,and Internet-based travel services that offer lodging, transportationreservations and ticketing directly to customers over the Internet. Withsuch a service, a customer, using a computer connected to the travelservice via the Internet, can purchase travel services/products from adynamically changing inventory of services and products, such as hotelrooms, airline fares, car rentals, etc. Typically, such a travel servicecooperates with a centralized computer reservation system (“CRS”). A CRSis a system/service that communicates with travel agents ortransportation services for the purpose of providing up-to-date rateplan data, including a room rate (price for a hotel room on a particulardate), fare (price for a trip or combination of routes comprising atrip), schedule (date and time of arrival and departure of a trip orflight), rules (which room rates and fares are valid under whichcircumstances) and availability (capacity for a particular trip orflight or hotel to provide accommodation at a particular fare or rate)in response to a query. This information is provided to the CRS by thelodging provider or transportation carriers, typically through thirdparties; however, a travel service can also cooperate with otherdatabases, such as a local database reflecting specific relationshipsbetween carriers and the travel service, e.g., such as discountcontracts or incentive programs. Accordingly, an Internet-based servicecan have access to many sources of travel inventory and prices. The CRS,may also be used to reserve and/or book travel components in travelpackages, i.e., groupings of flight, hotel, car rentals, and or othertravel services/products.

The business environment of a travel service is such that there arenumerous ways of providing the same or a similar end-product to theconsumer at a variety of prices. Due to travel provider-drivenpreferences, it may be cost-effective to price similar inventorydifferently. As an example, in the case of hotel reservations, thepricing structures are complex and dependent on a number of differentvariables, including check-in date, length of stay, availability, etc.Moreover, the prices among hotels can vary greatly depending on theseason, events scheduled near the hotel, as well as the hotel's locationand amenities. In the case of airline reservations, the number of waysthat a consumer can travel from point A to point B is great when thenumber of airline carriers, different travel paths, hub locations andother particulars are considered. For this reason, the price of aparticular hotel room, or flight segment from point A to point B, orother travel service/product may vary considerably across time, lodgingproviders, airline carriers, and the like.

Further, compounding price variations are price sensitivities, which canreflect, for example, an increase in demand for rooms reserved proximateto check-in time, or tickets reserved proximate to departure time.Additionally, incentive and discount programs negotiated with individualcarriers and lodging providers can further affect the price offered by atravel service. Also, certain classes of room and flight inventory mayhave associated high or low demands, or high or low volume sales. Stillfurther, rooms and flights included in a travel package may be eligiblefor further discounts over those not purchased as part of a package.

In addition, there are numerous consumer-driven preferences that canaffect pricing as well. Some consumers will value individualcharacteristics of a given item of inventory differently. For example,in a hotel setting some consumer may prefer a particular hotel company,while others may only consider the location of the hotel. In the case ofairline tickets, a consumer may not value when the flight (flying fromone place to the next) takes place, whereas another consumer may value aparticular carrier over all others. These preferences can be factoredinto flights offered when the consumer specifies their preferences. Forthese reasons and others, there are numerous factors that can affect thevalue of the same or similar end-product.

In a conventional Internet-based travel service, a consumer enters veryspecific information concerning desired travel provider inventory, suchas the type of hotel, and check-in and check-out dates. TheInternet-based travel service queries remote servers for inventory thatmatches that specific query. In turn, the remote servers performsearches of their inventory databases to find matches for the query andreturn results to the Internet-based travel service for viewing by theconsumer. However, a traditional remote server search in response to aquery is limited.

One limitation results from the fact that previous attempts to presenttravel service information online have not always provided accuratereal-time pricing and availability to consumers. Even when accuratetravel service/product availability and pricing is capable of beingprovided in real-time, a still further drawback of previous solutions toproviding travel service information online has been the inability toprovide the consumer with meaningful comparisons between differentrooms, flights, and the other services used while traveling. Obtaininginformation for individual travel services typically requires theconsumer to navigate numerous Web pages, and only near the end of theprocess is a price provided. Most consumers have discovered that it isinconvenient and inefficient to follow this series of Web pages forvarious travel services for comparison purposes.

Some travel service providers have sought to address the problem bypresenting pricing and availability information graphically in a weeklyor monthly calendar format. However, the amount of detailed informationpresented is quite large, and is challenging for the typical consumer todigest without spending an inordinate amount of time, particularly whentaking into account all of the price variations and sensitivities thatcan affect the pricing of a particular travel service/product on anygiven date. Moreover, presenting detailed information requires a higherdegree of precision in determining the exact rates that cannot always beachieved in real-time.

In the context of advertising, some travel service providers have soughtto address the problem by presenting pricing information graphically ina color-coded, shaded weekly or monthly calendar format. However, suchinformation is necessarily static, and cannot convey up-to-the minuteavailability and rate changes that reflect changes in the market fromone day or week to the next.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In accordance with the present invention, a method and system areprovided for presenting rates for travel services using dynamic pricingbands. The dynamic pricing bands represent approximate rates for travelservices relative to available rates during or close to the proposeddates of travel, or at or near the proposed travel destination. Eachdynamic pricing band is keyed to a particular color, intensity, patternor other graphical and/or audio characteristic, thereby providing theconsumer a sense of the seasonal, regional, day of week, or othervariability for travel service rates without having to compare actualnumbers. The dynamic pricing bands are applied to an interactivepresentation of rates for travel services to allow the consumer toexplore possible rate variations for particular travel services in amanner that provides a birds-eye view, is intuitive and user-friendly.

In one aspect, the dynamic pricing bands are computed from exact ratesfor the travel services using an algorithm in which the least and mostexpensive available rates establish a dynamic range of rates that issubdivided into a limited number of bands. Approximate rates arepresented to a consumer using the limited number of bands according towhere the exact rate for a particular travel service falls within thebands, thereby allowing the consumer to easily compare rates at a glanceby comparing the limited number of bands.

In one aspect, the pricing bands are computed from exact rates availableduring or close to the proposed dates of travel, or at or near thetravel destination, including exact rates for the month in which thetravel commences plus an additional number of months to insure that thecomputed pricing bands represent approximate rates for travel servicesthat are not unreasonably distorted by seasonal or other variations inthe exact rates for a given travel service. The number of additionalmonths of exact rates included in the computation of the pricing bandsmay vary according to the proposed dates of travel and/or type of travelservice to optimize the presentation of approximate rates to theconsumer using dynamic pricing bands.

In yet another aspect, the dynamic pricing bands used in thepresentation of rates are displayed to the consumer in color, where adifferent color is used for each pricing band according to a color key.The different colors may include colors chosen to convey whether theapproximate rate represented by the pricing band is expensive orinexpensive as compared to other approximate rates represented by otherpricing bands. In alternate embodiments, the computed pricing bands mayalso be displayed to the consumer using a single color of variedintensity, using various patterns, or using other graphicalcharacteristics, where the level of intensity of the color, pattern, orother graphical characteristic is similarly chosen to convey whether theapproximate rate represented by the pricing band is expensive orinexpensive as compared to other approximate rates represented by otherpricing bands.

In still another aspect, the rates are presented to the consumer using acalendar format, where the color, intensity, pattern, or other graphicalcharacteristic chosen for the dynamic pricing bands are used for thebackground of the portions of the calendar that represent a particulardate or dates of travel, such as the cells of a calendar presented in agrid format. In addition, the proposed dates of travel may be furtherhighlighted to set them off from nearby dates of travel, allowing theconsumer to quickly compare the approximates rates for the proposeddates of travel with the approximate rates for nearby dates, just bycomparing the background color, intensity, or pattern of the respectiveportions of the calendar.

In yet another aspect, presentation of rates to the consumer usingpricing bands further includes displaying the exact rates for aparticular date of travel in response to a user selection. When therates are displayed in a rate calendar format, the exact rates may bedisplayed to the consumer in response to a user input, such as theselection of the portion of the calendar that represents a particulardate or dates of travel, such as the cells of a calendar presented in agrid format, or a user input selecting a link to a booking Web page tobook the travel for the proposed dates of travel.

In another aspect, the rates are presented to the consumer using a mapformat, where the color, intensity, or pattern chosen for the pricingbands are used for the background of icons depicted in a map thatrepresents particular travel services available in a particular region.When used to present rates in a map format, the rates that the dynamicpricing bands represent may include the average lowest daily rate for atravel service for the selected date or dates relative to the averagelowest daily rates for the other travel services depicted in the map.When the proposed date or dates of travel are unavailable, the ratesthat the dynamic pricing bands represent may default to a median dailyrate for travel services relative to the median daily rates for theother services depicted in the map within a predetermined period oftime, e.g., two months. Regardless of whether average or median ratesare used, the dynamic pricing bands are computed using an algorithm inwhich the least and most expensive rates establish a dynamic range ofrates that is subdivided into a limited number of bands. The rates arepresented to a consumer according to where the rate of a particulartravel service falls within the dynamic pricing bands, thereby allowingthe consumer to easily compare rates of travel services in a givenregion at a glance by comparing the respective limited number of pricingbands.

In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, acomputer-accessible medium for presenting rates for travel servicesusing pricing bands is provided. The computer-accessible mediumcomprises data structures and computer-executable components comprisinga rate presentation system and method, including rate calendar and ratemap processes and interfaces to compute dynamic pricing bands andpresent rates for travel services to consumers in a manner that allowsconsumers to easily and quickly compare rates for travel services usingthe computed pricing bands. The data structures define the interfaces,process, rate data and dynamic pricing bands in a manner that isgenerally consistent with the above-described system and method.Likewise, the computer-executable components are capable of performingactions generally consistent with the above-described system and method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram of a number of devices connected to aninternetwork which provide a client device with a presentation of ratesfor travel services in response to a travel query in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating several components of the clientdevice shown in FIG. 1 used to request travel service rates inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating several of the components of aWeb server shown in FIG. 1 used to communicate with the client deviceand to present rates for travel services in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating several of the components of atravel server shown in FIG. 1 used to generate presentations of ratesfor travel services in response to a travel query in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating several of the components of amap server shown in FIG. 1 used to render maps and icons for travelservices in response to a travel query in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the devicesillustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travel services in a calendarformat in response to a travel query in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7C is an overview flow diagram illustrating logic implementedusing the devices illustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travelservices in a calendar format in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a table summarizing an example of determining which rate datato include in the computation of the pricing bands used in thepresentation of rates for travel services in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a table summarizing an example of a 5-band algorithm used tocompute the pricing bands in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a table summarizing an example of applying colors torepresent the pricing bands in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 11-13 illustrate exemplary Web pages for presenting rates fortravel services in a calendar format in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the devicesillustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travel services in a mapformat in response to a travel query in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 15A-15B is an overview flow diagram illustrating logic implementedusing the devices illustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travelservices in a map format in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 16 illustrates exemplary Web pages for presenting rates for travelservices in a map format in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an environment for implementing a system forpresenting rates for travel services using pricing bands in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1is a pictorial diagram of a number of devices connected to aninternetwork which provide a client device with a presentation of ratesfor travel services in response to a travel query. The system 100generally operates in a distributed computing environment comprisingindividual computer systems interconnected over a network (such as theInternet 114). However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinaryskill in the art that the system 100 could equally function as a single,stand-alone computer system. In the described embodiment, a clientdevice 102, a Web server 104, a travel server 106, and a map server 110are interconnected over an internetwork, such as the Internet 114, orperhaps over an intranetwork. The client device 102, the Web server 104,travel server 106, and map server 110 are further described below inrelation to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The system 100 alsocomprises one or more connections to a centralized computer reservationsystem (CRS) 112, a system/service for providing up-to-date fare,schedule and availability information for travel services. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that more or less devices maybe used in the exemplary system 100. For example, the functionality ofthe map server 110 may reside on the travel server 106, or some of thefunctionality of the travel server 106 may reside on the Web server 104.In still another embodiment, multiple Web servers 104, and/or travelservers 106 may be used in the system 100. Additionally, while only oneclient device 102 has been shown, it will be appreciated that manyclient devices may be used in system 100.

FIG. 2 depicts several of the key components of the client device 102.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the clientdevice 102 may include many more components than those shown in FIG. 2.However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventionalcomponents be shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment forpracticing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the client device102 includes a network interface 230 for connecting to the Internet 114.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the networkinterface 230 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection,and is also constructed for use with the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) protocol or other protocols suchas the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (“IIOP”).

The client device 102 also includes a processing unit 210, a display240, an output device 245 and a memory 250 all interconnected along withthe network interface 230 via a bus 220. The output device 245 could beany type of device capable of receiving output from the client device102, such as, but not limited to, a printer, a smart card reader, aplotter or a storage mechanism like a floppy, tape or DVD/CD-ROM drive.The memory 250 generally comprises a random access memory (“RAM”), aread-only memory (“ROM”) and a permanent mass storage device, such as adisk drive. The memory 250 stores a Web browser 260 and an operatingsystem 255. It will be appreciated that these software components may beloaded from a computer-readable medium into memory 250 of the clientdevice 102 using a drive mechanism (not shown) associated with thecomputer-readable medium, such as a floppy, tape or DVD/CD-ROM drive orvia the network interface 230.

Although an exemplary client device 102 has been described thatgenerally conforms to a conventional general purpose computing device,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a client device102 may be any of a great number of devices capable of communicatingwith the Internet 114 or with the Web server 104, e.g., a personaldigital assistant, a workstation, a cell phone, a laptop, etc.

FIG. 3 depicts several of the key components of the Web server 104.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the Web server104 includes many more components then those shown in FIG. 3. However,it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional componentsbe shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment for practicing thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the Web server 104 is connectedto the Internet 114 via a network interface 330. Those of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that the network interface 330 includes thenecessary circuitry for connecting the Web server 104 to the Internet114, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol or otherprotocols, such as the IIOP, the particular network configuration of theoperating environment in which it is contained and a particular type ofcoupling medium.

The Web server 104 also includes a processing unit 310, an optionaldisplay 340, and a mass memory 350 all interconnected along with thenetwork interface 330 via a bus 320. The memory 350 generally comprisesRAM, ROM, and one or more permanent mass storage devices, such as a harddisk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combinationthereof. The mass memory 350 stores the program code and data necessaryfor receiving, processing, formatting, requesting and sending rates fortravel services, as well as, supplying the results of that processing toother devices such as the client device 102 in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. More specifically, the memory 350stores a Web service 360 for providing Web connectivity to the Web forcomputers with Web browsers, such as the client device 102 having Webbrowser 260. Additionally, the memory 350 stores a rate interfaceprocess 365 for an interactive presentation of approximate rates fortravel services to consumers using pricing bands in a calendar 370 ormap 375 format in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The travel services may be any type of services related totravel, including but not limited to lodging and transportation. Therate interface process 365 is described in greater detail below, withreference to FIGS. 11-13 for the calendar format, and FIG. 17 for themap format.

It will be appreciated that the aforementioned software components maybe loaded from a computer-readable medium into mass memory 350 of theWeb server 104 using a drive mechanism (not shown) associated with thecomputer-readable medium, such as floppy, tape or DVD/CD-ROM drive orvia the network interface 330.

Although an exemplary Web server 104 has been described that generallyconforms to a conventional general purpose computing device, those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a Web server 104 may beany of a great number of devices capable of communicating via theInternet 114, or providing Web pages in a network.

FIG. 4 depicts several of the key components of the travel server 106.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the travelserver 106 includes many more components then those shown in FIG. 4.However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventionalcomponents be shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment forpracticing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the travel server106 is connected to the Internet 114 via a network interface 430. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the network interface430 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting the travel server106 to the Internet 114, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IPprotocol or the next generation protocols, such as the IIOP, theparticular network configuration of the operating environment in whichit is contained and a particular type of coupling medium.

The travel server 106 also includes a processing unit 410, an optionaldisplay 440, and a mass memory 450 all interconnected along with thenetwork interface 430 via a bus 420. The memory 450 generally comprisesRAM, ROM, and one or more permanent mass storage devices, such as a harddisk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combinationthereof. The mass memory 450 stores the program code and data necessaryfor receiving, processing, formatting, requesting and sending rates fortravel services, as well as, supplying the results of that processing toother devices such as the Web server 104 and client device 102 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Morespecifically, the memory 450 stores a rate presenter process 460 togenerate an interactive presentation of approximate rates for travelservices using pricing bands in a calendar 465 or a map 470 format, asshown and described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C andFIGS. 15A-15B, respectively. Briefly, the rate presenter generates aninteractive presentation of approximate rates for travel services usingpricing bands in response to a consumer request for rates for travelservices during a particular time period, or in a particular location,according to the consumer's specifications. It will be appreciated thatthe aforementioned software components may be loaded from acomputer-readable medium into mass memory 450 of the travel server 106using a drive mechanism (not shown) associated with thecomputer-readable medium, such as floppy, tape or DVD/CD-ROM drive orvia the network interface 430.

Although an exemplary travel server 106 has been described thatgenerally conforms to a single conventional general purpose computingdevice, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a travelserver 106 may be a combination of computing devices or components,coordinated to communicate with the Web server 104 over a network.

FIG. 5 depicts several of the key components of the map server 110.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the map server110 includes many more components then those shown in FIG. 5. However,it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional componentsbe shown in order to disclose an enabling embodiment for practicing thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the map server 110 is connectedto the Internet 114 via a network interface 530. Those of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that the network interface 530 includes thenecessary circuitry for connecting the map server 110 to the Internet114, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol or thenext generation protocols, such as the IIOP, the particular networkconfiguration of the operating environment in which it is contained anda particular type of coupling medium.

The map server 110 also includes a processing unit 510, an optionaldisplay 540, and a mass memory 550 all interconnected along with thenetwork interface 530 via a bus 520. The memory 550 generally comprisesRAM, ROM, and one or more permanent mass storage devices, such as a harddisk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combinationthereof. The mass memory 550 stores the program code and data necessaryfor rendering and serving a map of a travel destination in response to arequest from devices such as the travel server 106, as well as,supplying the results of that processing to other devices such as theWeb server 104 and client device 102 in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. More specifically, the memory 550 stores a mapservice 560 to render and serve an interactive map of a traveldestination and surrounding area, including icons for travel services inthe travel destination and surrounding area, in response to a requestfrom another device such as the travel server 106, the request includingthe location parameters of the desired travel services in the traveldestination and surrounding area, e.g., the longitude and latitudedesignations. It will be appreciated that the aforementioned softwarecomponents may be loaded from a computer-readable medium into massmemory 550 of the map server 110 using a drive mechanism (not shown)associated with the computer-readable medium, such as floppy, tape orDVD/CD-ROM drive or via the network interface 530.

Although an exemplary map server 110 has been described that generallyconforms to a single conventional general purpose computing device,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a map server 110may be a combination of computing devices or components, coordinated tocommunicate with the travel server 106 and other devices over a network.

To better illustrate the presentation of rates for travel services to aconsumer using pricing bands using a calendar interface, FIG. 6 is adiagram illustrating one embodiment of interactions taken by the devicesof system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travel servicesusing pricing bands in a calendar format in response to a travel queryin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. While lodgingservices are used below to describe an illustrative travel service forwhich rates are presented using pricing bands according to an embodimentof the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the present invention applies equally well to othertypes of travel services, such as, but not limited to, air, train, bus,cruise, ferry or other forms of transportation services. The devices ofthe system 100 illustrated in FIG. 6 include a client device 102, Webserver 104, and a travel server 106, respectively, and an inventorydatabase 108 that may be accessible directly, or indirectly through aCRS 112, as described with reference to FIG. 1. The interactions of andthe processes performed by the various devices are illustrated anddescribed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C.

Returning to FIG. 6, the presentation of rates for travel services to aconsumer using pricing bands is initiated at interactions 610, 620 whena Web server 104 relays a consumer's selection of a hotel room and,optionally, the proposed dates of travel, such as the check-in andcheck-out dates, or the current date as the default, from the clientdevice 102 to the travel server 106 via an interactive rate calendarinterface (such as the rate calendar interface 1100 illustrated in FIG.11) that is accessible to the client device 102 and is hosted on the Webserver 104.

At interaction 630, once the travel server 106 receives the consumer'sselections, the travel server 106 calls a cache of the inventorydatabase 108 to obtain rate plan data associated with the hotel room andproposed dates of travel selections. At interaction 640, the travelserver 106 retrieves the rate plan data from the cache, starting withthe check-in month plus an additional number of months of rate plan datain accordance with the rules set forth in detail and further describedbelow with reference to FIG. 8. In a typical example, the travel server106 retrieves six months of rate plan data for the selected travelservice (e.g., the selected hotel room) starting with the rate plan datafor the proposed check-in month. However, other amounts of rate plandata may be retrieved from the cache, either arbitrarily or depending onthe type of travel service or proposed dates.

At interaction 650, the travel server 106 computes a limited number ofpricing bands from the rate plan data that was retrieved from the cacheaccording to a pricing band algorithm, as set forth in detail andfurther described below with reference to FIG. 9. In general, thepricing bands represent dynamic ranges of rates computed from the leastand most expensive rates in the retrieved rate plan data. In oneembodiment, the pricing bands are generally limited in number to no morethan five (5) or so bands to facilitate easy comparison of rates by theconsumer. However, the number may vary depending on the implementation.For example, when using the bands to represent rates for travel servicesthat are particularly volatile, such as airfares, the number of pricingbands may increase or decrease to accommodate larger ranges or smallerranges of rates. At interaction 660, the travel server 106 combines thecomputed pricing bands with an interactive rate calendar interface toallow the consumer to explore the possible rate variations for theselected travel service in an intuitive and user-friendly manner. Aswill be further described with reference to FIGS. 7A-7C, the travelserver 106 generates the cells for each date of the month or months thatare to be displayed in the interactive rate calendar, and associates aparticular computed pricing band with each cell depending on where theexact rate for each date falls within the dynamic ranges of the bands.

At interaction 670, the Web server applies a graphical characteristic tothe cells based on the computed pricing band associated with the cell asdescribed in further detail below with reference to FIG. 10. In atypical embodiment, the graphical characteristic is a color chosen toconvey whether the approximate rate for a travel service on a particulardate (a calendar cell) is expensive or inexpensive as compared to rateson other dates (other cells).

FIGS. 7A-7C are overview flow diagrams illustrating logic implementedusing the devices of system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 to present ratesfor travel services in a calendar format in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. A rate presenter process 700implemented by the travel server 106 begins in block 702 and continuesat process block 704 to receive the consumer's selection of a travelservice, such as a standard king bed hotel room in the ABC Hotel, andoptionally, the desired reservation date, such as a check-in date of May1, 2004 for one week, checking out on May 8, 2004. At decision block 706the rate presenter process 700 determines whether the consumer'sselection is dated or undated. If undated, at process block 708 the ratepresenter process 700 defaults to the current date. At process block712, the rate presenter process 700 determines which months of the rateplan data for the consumer's selected travel service to obtain from acache of rate plan data obtained from the inventory database 108. Thecache is a subset of the rate plan data that is stored in memory 450 andperiodically refreshed to facilitate rapid access to current rate plandata while minimizing database access delays. The amount of rate plandata stored in the cache at any given time is typically six months,although the cache may contain more or less than six months of datadepending on the implementation. The determination of which months ofthe rate plan data to obtain is set forth in further detail in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a table summarizing an example of determining which rate datato include in the computation of the dynamic pricing bands used in thepresentation of rates for travel services in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the example is fora six-month cache of data, and summarizes which months are displayed inthe rate calendar 820, and which months are included in the computationof the dynamic pricing bands 830, based on the consumer's selection ofcheck-in month 810. For example, in a dated search, when the check-inmonth occurs in the first month, M1, of the six-month cache, at 840A,the months that will be displayed in the rate calendar, i.e., thedisplay months, are the first and second months of the cache, M1 and M2,and the months that will be used in computing the pricing bands, i.e.,the pricing band months, are the first through sixth months, M1 throughM6. Similarly, when the check-in month occurs in the second month, M2,of the six-month cache, at 840B, the display months are the second andthird months of the cache, M2 and M3, and the pricing band months arethe first through sixth months, M1 through M6. When the check-in monthoccurs in the third through fifth month, the rate data is included in amanner similar to when the check-in month occurs in the first and secondmonths. However, when the check-in month occurs in the sixth month, thedetermination of display months and computation months depends onwhether the check-out month occurs within the six-month cache or isoutside the cache. When the check-out month also occurs within the sixthmonth, at 840F, the display months are the fifth and sixth months of thecache, M5 and M6, and the pricing band months are again the firstthrough sixth months, M1 through M6. However, when the check-out monthoccurs beyond the sixth month (outside of the cache), at 840G, the sixthmonth of the cache will be displayed in the rate calendar, M6, as wellas the seventh month, M7, but without data in any of the cells of theseventh month. The months used in computing the pricing bands are againthe first through sixth months, M1 through M6.

When the check-in month occurs in the seventh month beyond the sixthmonth of the cache, the display months are the sixth and seventh months,M6 and M7, but will be displayed without data in any of the cells ofeither month. The pricing band months are the first through sixthmonths, M1 through M6, plus optionally an additional month of data, M7,obtained directly from the inventory database 108, i.e., not from thecache. When the check-in month occurs in the eighth through twelfthmonth, M8 to M12, at 840I, then the display months are again the sixthand seventh months, M6 and M7, but again without data in any of thecells of either month. Moreover, no attempt to compute pricing bands ismade. Lastly, when the selection of the consumer is undated, i.e., nocheck-in date or proposed date of travel was specified, then thecheck-in month will default to the month of the current date, and themonths used in the display and computation of the pricing bands aredetermined accordingly.

Returning now to FIG. 7A, once the amount of available rate plan data touse in the computation of the pricing bands has been determined, atprocess block 714, the rate presenter process 700 obtains the leastexpensive, “L,” rate from the available rate plan data, and, likewise,at process block 716, the most expensive, “M,” rate. At process block718, the rate presenter process 700 subtracts the least expensive ratefrom the most expensive rate to obtain a range of rates, “R,” i.e.,R=M−L. The rate presenter process 700 continues at FIG. 7B, at processblock 722, to compute the dynamic pricing bands using the obtainedvalues for the least and most expensive rates and the resulting range,L, M, and R, according to an N-band algorithm, an example of which isillustrated in detail in FIG. 9. In a preferred embodiment, the pricingband representing the least expensive rates is not actually a range ofvalues, but rather the least expensive rate, L. The remaining pricingbands are ranges of values computed using the values for L and R in theN-band algorithm, as generally expressed in the following equation:

[L+(x−1*(R/N−1))+1][L +(x*(R/N−1))],

where x=1 to N−1, and N is the number of pricing bands.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the number of dynamic pricingbands 910 is five (5), where Band I, 930A, is used for rates equal tothe least expensive rate, L, Band II, 930B, is used for rates rangingfrom L+1 to [L+1*(R/4)], Band III, 930C, is used for rates ranging fromL+(1*(R/4))+1] to [L+(2*(R/4))], Band IV, 930D, is used for ratesranging from L+(2*(R/4))+1] to [L+(3*(R/4))], and Band V, 930E, is usedfor rates ranging from L+(3*(R/4))+1] to [L+(4*(R/4))]. An examplecomputation of five pricing bands using actual rate plan data will befurther described below with reference to FIG. 10.

Returning now to FIG. 7B, at process block 724, the rate presenterprocess 700 assigns a graphical characteristic to each of the computedpricing bands, such as a particular color, that will graphicallydifferentiate for the consumer in an easily accessible manner whichrates for the travel service are expensive, and which are not, relativeto the rates for other dates proximate to the proposed dates of travel.FIG. 10 illustrates a table 1000 summarizing an example of applyingcolors to represent dynamic pricing bands in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, theavailable rate plan data obtained from the cache is subdivided into fivepricing bands, where the least expensive rate, L, is determined to be$150 and the most expensive rate, M, is $250, resulting in a totalrange, R, of $100. As shown, Band I, 1020A, uses the lightest shade ofthe color green for rates equal to the least expensive rate, L, of $150.Band II, 1020B, uses a medium shade of green for rates ranging from $151to ($150+25), or $151 to $175. Band III, 1020C, uses a medium-dark shadeof green for rates ranging from $176 to ($150+50), or $176 to $200. BandIV, 1020D, uses a dark shade of green for rates ranging from $201 to($150+75), or $201 to $225. Lastly, Band V, 1020E, uses the darkestshade of green for the most expensive rates ranging from $226 to($150+$100), or $226 to $250. Although the illustrated example usesdifferent shades of the same color to differentiate one pricing bandfrom another, another graphical characteristic could have been used withequal success, such as different colors altogether, e.g., green for theleast expensive, and red for the most expensive, or different patternsof black and white to accommodate monochromatic display screens. In oneembodiment, the choice of which type of graphical characteristic to usefor each pricing band is delayed until the rates are presented to theclient device, permitting the choice to identify a particular brand oftravel service provider.

Returning now to FIG. 7B, the rate presenter process 700 continues atprocess block 726 to generate the cells for each date in the months thatwill be displayed in the rate calendar interface, where the generationof each cell is based on where the exact rate for each date falls withinthe dynamic ranges of the computed pricing bands. In one embodiment, theappropriate computed pricing band is associated with the cell, but doesnot affect the appearance of the cell until the rate calendar interfaceis actually rendered on the client device to allow the selection ofcolor or other graphical characteristic to identify the particular brandof travel service provider that the consumer is using.

The rate presenter process 700 continues at process block 730 to obtainfrom the cached rate plan data the exact daily rates for the proposeddates of travel selected by the consumer (or the default current date ifthe consumer's travel service selection was undated). In one embodiment,the exact daily rates for the proposed dates of travel are postedalongside the monthly calendar display to provide the user with detailedexact rates in addition to the approximate rates represented by thedynamic pricing band colors applied to the monthly calendar display. Atprocess block 732, the rate presenter process 700 further highlights thecells that represent the proposed dates of travel selected by theconsumer (or the default current date if the consumer's travel serviceselection was undated).

Once the interactive rate calendar has been generated, at process block734 the rate presenter process 700 displays, or causes the display, ofthe interactive rate calendar on a client device 102 for the consumer.An example of an interactive rate calendar interface is illustrated inFIG. 11, at reference numeral 1100. The illustrated rate calendarinterface 1100 shows a rate calendar for the ABC Hotel, 1102, for theselected travel service of a Studio One Full room, 1108, displayed asavailable, 1114, for proposed dates in May, with a check-in date ofSaturday, May 1, 2004, and a check-out date of May 8, 2004, shown at1104, 1108. A room description is optionally displayed at 1116, with alink to a virtual tour of the room's amenities at 1118. In the detailedinformation appearing across the top of the rate calendar interface1100, the exact rates for the proposed dates of travel are displayed ina weekly format, with the Saturday May 1, 2004 rate of $194, the SundayMay 2-Monday May 3 rate of $154, the Tuesday May 4 rate of $144, theWednesday May 5-Friday May 7 rate of $194, for an average rate per nightof $148.

Should the consumer wish to compare how the rates for the proposed datesof travel compare with other nearby dates, a Hide/Display Rate Calendarlink at 1120 may be activated to toggle to the displayed months of therate calendar interface 1100. As shown, the two displayed months are themonth in which the check-in date occurs, May 2004, at 1134, and the nextmonth, June 2004, at 1132. Detailed information appearing across the topof the rate calendar interface 1100 is repeated in a tabular format at1128 alongside the two displayed months. Appearing near the twodisplayed months is a pattern key 1124 depicting five (5) differentpatterns used to represent five (5) different pricing bands, such as thepreviously described Bands I -V in FIGS. 9-10, where the pattern appearsin the background of each date in the calendar to indicate whether thecost of the room is less or more cost per night as compared to the otherdisplayed dates in the two displayed monthly calendars. In this example,the pricing bands were computed from six months of cached data, from May2004 through October 2004.

Also appearing near the two displayed months is an availability key 1134depicting an X used to mark those dates that are unavailable. As isshown in the two displayed months, certain dates are encoded asunavailable, including May 24, May 28-30, and June 25-27. For theproposed dates of travel, May 1 through May 8, the rates for three ofthe days, namely Saturday, May 1, and Wednesday through Friday, May 5through May 7, fall within Band IV, and are so encoded with the patternfor Band IV. Similarly, the rates for Sunday through Monday, May 2through May 3, fall within Band III, and are so encoded with the patternfor Band III. The rate for Tuesday, May 4, is the least expensive of therates, falling within Band II, and is so encoded with the pattern forBand II. In one embodiment, the proposed dates of travel are highlightedon the calendar, illustrated here as an emphasis on the outlines of thecells representing the proposed dates of travel. However, thehighlighting may be accomplished using any graphical characteristic thatcalls attention to that portion of the screen in which the cellsrepresenting the proposed dates of travel appear.

In actual use of the rate calendar interface 1100 appearing in FIG. 11,the consumer can easily see that if they were to delay their travel tothe following week in May, they could take advantage of the lowest ratefor the selected room (or at least the lowest rate relative to the ratesfor the period corresponding to the six months of cached rate plan datathat was used to compute the dynamic pricing bands). This is because therates beginning on Sunday, May 9 through Wednesday, May 19, apparentlyfall with Band I, and are so encoded with the pattern for Band I (which,in this example, is the absence of a pattern). The consumer can alsoeasily grasp at a glance, that the more expensive rates occur in thefollowing month, the month of June, at 1132, probably due to seasonalvariation in demand for rooms in the ABC Hotel.

Another example of the rate calendar interface is illustrated in FIG.12, in the same ABC Hotel 1202, this time for a different selectedtravel service of a Standard King room 1208, displayed as available at1214, for same proposed dates in May, with a check-in date of Saturday,May 1, 2004, and a check-out date of May 8, 2004, shown at 1204 and1210. As in the interface 1100 in FIG. 11, a room description isoptionally displayed at 1216, with a link to a virtual tour of theroom's amenities at 1218. In the detailed information appearing acrossthe top of the rate calendar interface 1200, the exact rates for theproposed dates of travel are displayed in a weekly format, with theSaturday May 1, 2004 rate of $230, the Sunday May 2-Monday May 3 rate of$188, the Tuesday May 4 rate of $180, the Wednesday May 5-Friday May 7rate of $230, for an average rate per night of $211, significantlyhigher than the rate for the Studio One Full room in the same hotel forthe same proposed dates of travel Thus, the consumer can easilydetermine at a glance by selecting a different type of room, the cost ofupgrading to a nicer room in the same hotel for the same dates oftravel.

Returning now to FIG. 7C, the rate presenter process 700 responds toconsumer input to the interactive rate calendar interface 1100 atdecision blocks 738, 740, and 742. For example, at decision block 738,should the consumer wish to explore rates for months other than thedisplay months already viewed in the rate calendar interface 1100illustrated in FIG. 11, the consumer may click the links provided at1106 and 1138 to change the proposed dates of travel, or may simplynavigate the display months using the navigational arrows at 1140 and1142 to go back and forth. However, should the new proposed dates oftravel cause a change in the determination of pricing band months, aspreviously described with reference to FIG. 8, for purposes of computingthe dynamic pricing bands, then, referring back to FIG. 7C, the ratepresenter process 700 branches to the beginning of the process in FIG.7A, at process block 712 so that the pricing band months may bere-determined and pricing bands re-computed. Referring again to FIG. 7C,should only the dates change, but not the pricing band months, then therate presenter process 700 branches instead to FIG. 7B at process block730 to obtain the exact daily rates for the new proposed dates of traveland to refresh the rate calendar interface 1100 to display the detailedinformation and highlight the proposed dates accordingly.

An example of changing the months of proposed travel is illustrated inFIG. 13, in which the proposed dates of travel for the same Studio OneFull room selected in the original example illustrated in FIG. 11, isnow June 12 through June 19. The display months are now June and July,beginning with the month of June at 1330 instead of the month of May at1130. For the proposed dates of travel, June 12 through June 19, therates for three of the days, namely Saturday, June 12, and Wednesdaythrough Friday, June 16 through June 18, fall within Band V, and are soencoded. Similarly, the rates for Sunday through Monday, June 13 throughJune 14, fall within Band IV, and are so encoded. As before, the ratefor Tuesday, June 15, is the least expensive of the rates, fallingwithin Band III, and is so encoded. Although the ranges for the pricingbands has moved upwards, reflecting higher rates, the relationship ofthe day of week variations in pricing remains the same as before, as isreadily appreciated from the appearance of the approximate rates encodedwith the corresponding pricing bands in each date of the displayedcalendar months, June and July, at 1330 and 1332 respectively. Theconsumer can also easily see, at a glance, that the rates for travel areincreasing as the seasonal price variations for the popular months ofsummer travel take hold, resulting in more dates encoded with the moreexpensive pricing bands, Band IV and Band V during the month of July, at1332, than in the month of June, at 1330.

Returning now to FIG. 7C, should the consumer wish to book travel forthe proposed dates, at decision block 742 the rate presenter process 700determines whether the consumer has activated the book travel link, anexample of which is illustrated in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, at 1136, 1236,and 1336, respectively. If so, the rate presenter process 700 branchesat process block 744 to a detailed rate page (not illustrated), andproceeds to book the travel in accordance with the consumer input. Atprocess block 746, the rate presenter process 700 terminates.

To better illustrate the presentation of rates for travel services to aconsumer using pricing bands in combination with a map interface, FIG.14 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of interactions taken by thedevices of system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 to present rates for travelservices using pricing bands in a map format in response to a travelquery in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Thedevices of the system 100 illustrated in FIG. 14 include a client device102, Web server 104, a travel server 106, and a map server 110,respectively, and an inventory database 108 that may be accessibledirectly, or indirectly through a CRS 112, as described with referenceto FIG. 1. The interactions of and the processes performed by thevarious devices are illustrated and described in greater detail withreference to FIGS. 15A-15B.

Returning to FIG. 14, the presentation of rates for travel services to aconsumer using pricing bands is initiated at interactions 1410, 1420,when a Web server 104 relays a consumer's selection of a traveldestination and particular travel service in a travel destination and,optionally, the proposed dates of travel, such as the check-in andcheck-out dates, or if no date has been proposed, the current date asthe default, from the client device 102 to the travel server 106 via aninteractive rate map interface (such as the rate map interface 1600illustrated in FIG. 16) that is accessible to the client device 102 andis hosted on the Web server 104.

At interaction 1430, once the travel server 106 receives the consumer'sselections, the travel server 106 calls a cache of the inventorydatabase 108 to obtain rate plan data associated with travel services ator near the travel destination for the proposed date or dates. Atinteraction 1440, the travel server 106 retrieves the rate plan datafrom the cache, starting with the check-in month plus an additionalnumber of months of rate plan data in accordance with the rules setforth in detail and further described below with reference to FIG. 8. Ina typical example, the travel server 106 retrieves two months of rateplan data for the travel services at or near the selected traveldestination, starting with the rate plan data for the proposed check-inmonth. If the selection is undated, the check-in month defaults to thecurrent month. However, other amounts of rate plan data may be retrievedfrom the cache, either arbitrarily or depending on the proposed dates oftravel.

At interaction 1450, the travel server 106 computes a limited number ofpricing bands from the rate plan data that was retrieved from the cacheaccording to a pricing band algorithm, as set forth in detail previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 9. Since each hotel is likely to offera number of different rates for their services depending on the type ofroom and length of stay, and no particular room within the hotel istypically specified when using the map interface, in one embodiment thetravel server 106 computes the average of the lowest daily rates foreach hotel for which rate plan data was retrieved from the cache, anduses each hotel's average in the computation of the limited number ofpricing bands instead of the exact rate for a particular room on aparticular date as was done previously. In an alternate embodiment, suchas when the consumer's selection is undated, the travel server 106 usesthe median daily rate for each hotel in the computation of the limitednumber of pricing bands, instead of the average lowest rate. Similar tothe calendar implementation, the pricing bands represent dynamic rangesof rates computed from the least and most expensive of the median oraverage lowest daily rate for each hotel, or other type of travelservice. The pricing bands are generally limited in number to no morethan five (5) or so bands to facilitate easy comparison of rates by theconsumer, but the number may vary depending on the implementation.

At interaction 1460, the travel server 106 requests a map from the mapserver 110. The map server 110 is typically a third party provider ofmap interfaces for a specified area, such as the travel destinationselected by the consumer. At interaction 1470, the map server 110renders a map interface of the travel destination, including iconscorresponding to the hotels at or near the travel destination for whichrate plan date was retrieved from the cache. The rendered map interfaceis relayed to the travel server 106. At interaction 1480, the travelserver 106 combines the computed pricing bands with the rendered mapinterface to allow the consumer to explore the possible rate variationsfor comparable travel services in the selected travel destination in anintuitive and user-friendly manner. As will be further described withreference to FIGS. 15A-15B, the travel server 106 associates aparticular computed pricing band with each icon depending on where therate for the travel service that the icon represents falls within thedynamic ranges of the bands.

At interaction 1490, the Web server applies a graphical characteristicto the rendered icons on the map based on the computed pricing bandassociated with the icon as described previously with reference to FIG.10. Similar to the rate calendar interface, in a typical embodiment ofthe rate map interface, the graphical characteristic is a color chosento convey whether the approximate rate for a particular hotel at or nearthe travel destination (as represented in the map icon) is expensive orinexpensive as compared to rates for other hotels at or near the traveldestination (other icons on the same map).

FIGS. 15A-15B are overview flow diagrams illustrating logic implementedusing the devices of system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 to present ratesfor travel services in a map format in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. A rate presenter process 1500 implemented by thetravel server 106 begins in block 1502 and continues at process block704 to receive the consumer's selection of a travel destination, such asSan Diego, Calif., and optionally, a particular hotel and/or reservationdate, such as the ABC Hotel, with a check-in date of May 1, 2004. Atprocess block 1506 the rate presenter process 1500 determines whichmonths of the rate plan data for hotels at or near the consumer'sselected travel destination to retrieve from the cache of rate plan dataobtained from the inventory database 108. The determination of whichmonths of the rate plan data to retrieve is set forth in further detailas previously described with reference to FIG. 8.

Once the rate plan data has been retrieved, at process block 1508 therate presenter process 1500 determines which rates to use in thecomputation of the pricing bands. When the consumer's selection of atravel destination is undated, a preferred default rate to use in thepricing band computation is the median daily rate within a predefinedperiod (typically two months beginning with the current month) for eachhotel in the travel destination that will be displayed on the map. Thisinsures that the consumer is comparing rates that are most likely to becomparable from one hotel to the next. Alternatively, when theconsumer's selection of a travel destination is dated, i.e., hasselected a check-in date and possibly a check-out date, then a preferredrate to use in the pricing band computation is an average of the lowestdaily rate for each travel service for each of the selected dates. Usingthe average of the lowest daily rates for a selected date or dates willgenerally provide the consumer with a more accurate sense of the ratesthat are available during the selected dates than just using the mediandaily rate.

Once the type of rate to use has been determined, at process block 1510,the rate presenter process 1500 obtains the least expensive, “L,” ratefrom the available rate plan data. For example, when using the averageof the lowest daily rates for a selected date or dates, the leastexpensive “L” rate is the least expensive of the average lowest dailyrates among all of the hotel in the selected travel destination, i.e.,the lowest of the average lowest rates. When using the median daily rateoccurring during a two-month period, the least expensive “L” rate is theleast expensive of the median daily rates among all of the hotels in theselected travel destination, i.e., the lowest of the median rates.Likewise, at process block 1512, the rate presenter process 1500 obtainsthe most expensive, “M,” rate from the available rate plan data in asimilar manner. At process block 1514, the rate presenter process 1500subtracts the least expensive rate from the most expensive rate toobtain a range of rates, “R,” i.e., R=M−L. The rate presenter process1500 continues at FIG. 15B, at process block 1516, to compute thedynamic pricing bands using the obtained values for the least and mostexpensive rates and the resulting range, L, M, and R, according to anN-band algorithm, an example of which has been illustrated andpreviously described in detail in FIG. 9.

Returning now to FIG. 15B, at process block 1520, the rate presenterprocess 1500 assigns a graphical characteristic to each of the computedpricing bands, such as a particular color, that will graphicallydifferentiate for the consumer in an easily accessible manner whichrates for a hotel are expensive, and which are not, relative to therates for other hotels at or near the selected travel destination. Aspreviously described, FIG. 10 illustrates a table 1000 summarizing anexample of applying colors to represent dynamic pricing bands inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Returning now to FIG. 15B, the rate presenter process 1500 continues atprocess block 1522 to request a map of the selected travel destinationas well as icons corresponding to the hotels at or near the selectedtravel destination appropriately geographically positioned on the map.In one embodiment, the map and icons are requested from a third partymap provider by the associated longitude and latitude geographicaldesignations associated with the selected destination and hotels.

The rate presenter process 1500 continues at process block 1524 tocombine the computed pricing bands with the map by associating a pricingband with each icon on the map based on where the rate for the hotel(e.g., the lowest or the average of the lowest daily rate for the hotel,as the case may be) falls within the dynamic ranges of the computedpricing bands. The rate presenter process 1500 may also at this timeapply the assigned graphical characteristics to the icons. In oneembodiment, the assignment and application of the graphicalcharacteristic to the icons is delayed until the rate map interface isactually rendered on the client device to allow the selection of thecolor or other graphical characteristic to identify the particular brandof travel service provider that the consumer is using.

Once the interactive rate map and icons have been generated, at processblock 1526 the rate presenter process 1500 displays, or causes thedisplay, of the interactive rate map interface 1600 on a client device102 for the consumer. An example of an interactive rate map interface isillustrated in FIG. 16, at reference numeral 1600. The illustrated ratemap interface 1600 entitled “Lodging in Beach Cities (San Diego)” at1602, in which a hotel map view 1604 tabbed display has been selectedthat includes an area map 1614 for the travel destination of San Diego,Calif. On the area map 1614 is superimposed icons designating thelocations of six different area lodgings, e.g., ABC Hotel 1620, DEFHotel 1622, HIJ Hotel 1624, KLM Hotel 1626, NOP Hotel 1628, and QRSHotel 1630. User instructions for interacting with the map are suppliedat reference numerals 1606 and 1608, and the icons on the map may becleared or selected using the links provided at reference numbers 1632and 1634.

Appearing beneath the displayed map 1614 is a pattern key 1638 depictingfive (5) different patterns used to represent five (5) different pricingbands, such as the previously described Bands I-V in FIGS. 9-10, wherethe pattern appears in the background of each icon in the map 1614 toindicate whether the hotel is more ore less affordable as compared tothe other hotels represented by the other displayed icons on the map. Asis shown in the displayed map 1614, the ABC Hotel at 1620 is displayedas an icon encoded with the pattern assigned to the second to leastexpensive of the hotels in Band II, The DEF Hotel at 1622 is displayedas an icon encoded with the pattern assigned to the second mostexpensive of the hotels in Band IV. The HIJ Hotel at 1624 is displayedas an icon encoded with the pattern assigned to the most expensive ofthe hotels in Band V. The KLM Hotel at 1626 is displayed as an iconencoded with the pattern assigned to the third most expensive of thehotels in Band III. Lastly, the NOP hotel at 1628 is displayed as anicon encoded with the pattern assigned to the least expensive of thehotels in Band I. Also appearing near the displayed map 1614 is anavailability key 1642, 1642, depicting blacked out or clear icons todesignate those hotels that are not available as opposed to those thatmay be available. As is shown in the displayed map 1614, only one of thehotels, namely the “QRS Hotel” is encoded as unavailable.

In actual use of the rate map interface 1600 appearing in FIG. 16, theconsumer can easily see that the ABC Hotel is a more affordable hotelthan the HIJ Hotel, which is closer to the downtown San Diego area. Theconsumer can also easily grasp at a glance, that the more expensiverates occur at hotels located near the downtown San Diego area.

While the presently preferred embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changesmay be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, although the dynamic pricing bands have beenprimarily described and depicted as being keyed to a particular color orpattern, they could also be keyed to a particular sound, or acombination of graphical and audio characteristics, including ananimated audiovisual characteristic.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, itwill be appreciated that various changes can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method for presenting rates for travel services, the methodcomprising: obtaining a dynamic range of available rates for a travelservice from a least expensive rate to a most expensive rate;subdividing the dynamic range of available rates into a plurality ofpricing bands, each pricing band representing a portion of the dynamicrange of available rates; determining an approximate rate for the travelservice based on the pricing band corresponding to the portion of thedynamic range of available rates within which an exact rate for thetravel service falls; and presenting the approximate rate for the travelservice in an interactive interface using a characteristic keyed to thecorresponding pricing band, the characteristic including at least one ofa graphical and audio characteristic that conveys a relative expense ofthe approximate rate for the travel service compared to otherapproximate rates for the travel service presented in the sameinterface.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the dynamic rangeof available rates for the travel service from the least expensive rateto the most expensive rate includes obtaining rates available during orclose to a proposed date of travel, and presenting the approximate ratefor the travel service is presenting the approximate rate for the travelservice for a particular date during or close to the proposed date oftravel.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interactive interface isan interactive calendar in which the characteristic keyed to thecorresponding pricing band is displayed in a particular cell of theinteractive calendar that represents the particular date during or closeto the proposed date of travel.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinobtaining rates available during or close to a proposed date of travelincludes obtaining rates available during a period of time, the periodof time including a month during or close to which the proposed date oftravel occurs plus an additional number of months proximate to the monthduring or close to which the proposed date of travel occurs.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the cells of the interactive calendarrepresent a month beyond the period of time for which rates for thetravel service can be obtained and the cells are displayed with adifferent graphical characteristic conveying that rates were notobtainable.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the dynamicrange of available rates for the travel service from the least expensiverate to the most expensive rate includes obtaining available rates fortravel providers located at or near a proposed destination of travel ona proposed date of travel, and presenting the approximate rate for thetravel service includes presenting the approximate rate for a particulartravel provider located at or near the proposed destination on theproposed date.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interactiveinterface is an interactive map in which the characteristic keyed to thecorresponding pricing band is displayed in an icon superimposed in alocation on the interactive map, wherein the icon represents theparticular travel provider located at or near the proposed destination.8. The method of claim 6, wherein obtaining the dynamic range ofavailable rates for the travel service from the least expensive rate tothe most expensive rate includes obtaining the dynamic range of ratesfor travel providers located at or near the proposed destinationavailable during a period of time, the period of time including a monthduring or close to which the proposed date of travel occurs plus anadditional number of months proximate to the month during or close towhich the proposed date of travel occurs.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein obtaining the dynamic range of rates for travel providerslocated at or near the proposed destination includes obtaining averagelowest daily rates from the least expensive average lowest daily rate tothe most expensive average lowest daily rate available during the periodof time.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining the dynamic rangeof rates for the travel providers located at or near the proposeddestination includes obtaining median daily rates from the leastexpensive median rate to the most expensive median rate available duringthe period of time.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein obtaining thedynamic range of rates for the travel providers located at or near theproposed destination includes obtaining rates based on a length of stayfrom the least expensive rate for the length of stay to the mostexpensive rate for the length of stay available during the period oftime.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the period of time is based ona type of the travel provider for which rates are obtained to reflectreasonable variations in the rates occurring over the period of time.13. A system for presenting rates for travel services, the systemcomprising: a rate generator to generate an approximate rate for atravel service based on a pricing band associated with a portion of adynamic range of available rates within which an exact rate for thetravel service falls, wherein the pricing band is computed based on analgorithm using at least a least expensive rate from the dynamic rangeof available rates; and an interactive rate interface, communicativelycoupled to the rate generator, in which to present the approximate ratefor the travel service using a characteristic keyed to the associatedpricing band, the characteristic including at least one of a graphicaland audio characteristic that conveys a relative expense of theapproximate rate for the travel service compared to other approximaterates for the travel service presented in the same interface.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the dynamic range of available rates for thetravel service spans a least expensive rate to a most expensive rate,and further wherein the dynamic range is subdivided into a limitednumber of portions based on the least and most expensive rates,including the portion within which the exact rate for the travel servicefalls.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the dynamic range ofavailable rates for the travel service includes rates available duringor close to a proposed date of travel, and the approximate rate for thetravel service is the approximate rate for the travel service on aparticular date during or close to the proposed date of travel.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the interactive rate interface is aninteractive calendar in which the characteristic keyed to the associatedpricing band is displayed in a particular cell of the interactivecalendar, the particular cell representing the particular date during orclose to the proposed date of travel.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the rates available during or close to the proposed date oftravel includes rates available during a period of time, the period oftime including a month during or close to which the proposed date oftravel occurs plus an additional number of months proximate to the monthduring or close to which the proposed date of travel occurs.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the cells of the interactive calendarrepresent a month beyond the period of time for which rates for thetravel service can be obtained and the cells are displayed with adifferent graphical characteristic conveying that rates were notobtainable.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein the rates availableduring or close to the proposed date of travel include available ratesfor travel providers located at or near a proposed destination of travelon the proposed date of travel, and the approximate rate for the travelservice is the approximate rate for a particular travel provider locatedat or near the proposed destination on the proposed date of travel. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein the interactive rate interface is aninteractive map in which the characteristic keyed to the associatedpricing band is displayed in an icon superimposed in a location on theinteractive map, wherein the icon represents the particular travelprovider located at or near the proposed destination.
 21. The system ofclaim 20, wherein the available rates for the travel providers locatedat or near the proposed destination include rates available during aperiod of time, the period of time including a month during or close towhich the proposed date of travel occurs plus an additional number ofmonths proximate to the month during or close to which the proposed dateof travel occurs.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the dynamic rangeof available rates for the travel providers located at or near theproposed destination includes average lowest daily rates for the travelproviders located at or near the proposed destination from the leastexpensive average lowest daily rate to the most expensive average lowestdaily rate available during the period of time.
 23. The system of claim21, wherein the dynamic range of available rates for the travelproviders located at or near the proposed destination includes mediandaily rates for the travel providers located at or near the proposeddestination from the least expensive median rate to the most expensivemedian rate available during the period of time.
 24. The system of claim21, wherein the dynamic range of available rates for the travelproviders located at or near the proposed destination includes ratesbased on a length of stay from the least expensive rate for the lengthof stay to the most expensive rate for the length of stay availableduring the period of time.
 25. The system of claim 14, wherein thepricing band associated with the portion of the dynamic range ofavailable rates that includes the least expensive rate is defined by asingle value equal to the least expensive rate in the dynamic range ofavailable rates.
 26. A computer-accessible medium having encoded thereoninstructions to present rates for travel services, wherein theinstructions, when executed by a computing apparatus, cause thecomputing apparatus to: obtain a range of available rates for a travelservice from a least expensive rate to a most expensive rate; subdividethe range of available rates into a limited number of pricing bands,wherein each pricing band corresponds to a portion of the range ofavailable rates and each pricing band is computed based on an algorithmusing at least the least expensive rate; determine an approximate ratefor the travel service based on the pricing band corresponding to theportion of the range of available rates within which an exact rate forthe travel service falls; and present the approximate rate for thetravel service in an interactive interface using a characteristic keyedto the corresponding pricing band, the characteristic including at leastone of a graphical and audio characteristic that conveys a relativeexpense of the approximate rate for the travel service compared to otherapproximate rates for the travel service presented in the sameinterface.
 27. The computer-accessible medium of claim 26, wherein theinstructions further cause the computing apparatus to obtain the leastand most expensive rates from rates available during or close to aproposed date of travel, and to present the approximate rate for thetravel service available for a particular date during or close to theproposed date of travel.
 28. The computer-accessible medium of claim 27,wherein the interactive interface is an interactive calendar, andwherein the instructions further cause the computing apparatus topresent the characteristic keyed to the corresponding pricing band in aparticular cell of the interactive calendar that represents theparticular date during or close to the proposed date of travel.
 29. Thecomputer-accessible medium of claim 27, wherein the instructions toobtain the least and most expensive rates from rates available during orclose to a proposed date of travel includes instructions to obtain ratesavailable during a period of time, the period of time including a monthduring or close to which the proposed date of travel occurs plus anadditional number of months proximate to the month during or close towhich the proposed date of travel occurs.
 30. The computer-accessiblemedium of claim 27, wherein the cells of the interactive calendarrepresent a month beyond the period of time for which rates for thetravel service can be obtained and the cells are displayed with adifferent graphical characteristic conveying that rates were notobtainable.
 31. The computer-accessible medium of claim 27, wherein theinstruction to obtain the range of available rates for the travelservice includes an instruction to obtain available rates for travelproviders located at or near a proposed destination of travel on aproposed date of travel, and further wherein the instruction to presentthe approximate rate for the travel service includes an instruction topresent the approximate rate for a particular travel provider located ator near the proposed destination on the proposed date.
 32. Thecomputer-accessible medium of claim 26, wherein the interactiveinterface is an interactive map, and wherein the instructions furthercause the computing apparatus to present the characteristic keyed to thecorresponding pricing band in an icon superimposed in a location on theinteractive map, wherein the icon represents the particular travelprovider located at or near the proposed destination.
 33. Thecomputer-accessible medium of claim 32, wherein the instructions toobtain the least and most expensive rates from rates available during orclose to a proposed date of travel includes instructions to obtain ratesfor travel providers located at or near the proposed destinationavailable during a period of time, the period of time including a monthduring or close to which the proposed date of travel occurs plus anadditional number of months proximate to the month during or close towhich the proposed date of travel occurs.
 34. The computer-accessiblemedium of claim 32, wherein the instructions to obtain rates for travelproviders located at or near the proposed destination available duringthe period of time includes instructions to obtain median daily ratesfrom the least expensive median rate to the most expensive median rateavailable during the period of time.